Kontan.

I went to school to set up my classroom yesterday and was surprised at the number of people doing the same. New teachers had orientation and I ran into the newbie who will teach sociology this year. I was asked about my approach last year and responded that I got through it and did what I wanted to with regard to approach.

Last year, I didn’t have to worry about a state or district made final. I was able to teach the course of study AND have fun with it. We learned the basics, but I focused on cultural influence and decision making. As a class we frequently discussed the driving forces behind our choices, viewpoints, and personal stance on issues. We studied world cultures and compared traditions, way of life, and evaluated from our personal perspectives while questioning the acceptance of the traditions in our own society. We reviewed advertising and its influence on our lives, as well as the steady changes in advertising and media. We had a great time and many students commented on how they received benefit from the class. There were several who asked about possible careers related to sociology. They learned and were genuinely interested. I was able to conduct the class in such a way that students were engaged and had a say in the learning process. We were not driven by test review. Many of my students went on the psychology and were not happy with the class. Yes it was a different teacher, but that teacher also had to focus on the fact that there was a district assessment at the end.

Had I had to issue a district assessment at the end of my sociology class I would have taught the class differently. I know that some believe it shouldn’t matter, but if you step into the classroom you will see just how much it does. Knowing that you will be held accountable for specifics, and not broad goals, changes your approach. My students could have written a wonderful essay about sociological perspectives, but would have bombed a multiple choice test on sociological specifics.

Think of it this way…

I have a master’s in American History. I can adequately discuss any time period of US history, but if you get into specific recall of what battle where and the date for this and that, I’m going to stumble. I can tell you cause, effect, build up and influence, but I am very weak in the minor details.

Maybe I’m doing a poor job of explaining the difference. I know that my students knew nothing about sociology at the beginning of the class and were inspired to seek more knowledge at the end. Had I had to stick to strict textbook learning they would have gotten through the class, filed the content in short term memory, and moved on. We did the book route, but it was not our focus. With a high stakes district assessment at the end, it would have had to be…there wouldn’t have been time for research and discussion.

High stakes testing is a game changer. A teacher (or student) is not considered successful if the student can’t accurately answer 100 multiple choice questions about the subject. No doubt, there are things students MUST know about a subject, but their learning should not be based upon a response to 100 multiple choice questions designed to test their reasoning and test taking ability. On a multiple choice test students are not able to demonstrate what they DID learn. They are not allowed to demonstrate their understanding of a topic. They are demonstrating their test taking maturity. if questioned on their knowledge, and given reasonable alternatives, most individuals will second guess what they know they know. With confidence and maturity they will choose the correct response. Many students lack this confidence and most lack the testing maturity required to land on the correct response. They will fall for the distractors because distractors are designed as reasonable alternatives to the accurate response. Test taking requires a maturity that some students do not yet possess.

I don’t know the best alternative for determining teacher effectiveness. Oral response? Knowledge defense with an assessment panel? I do know that good teachers are limited by the current assessment requirements and bad teaching is encouraged by it.

This semester I will be teaching Bible History and two other courses. The two other courses are planned and I am confident in my ability to instruct and guide students toward success. Although I am excited over teaching Bible History, I am apprehensive. I feel terribly unqualified. My knowledge is limited, and I am going to have to work to make it an enriching course for my students. I’m trying to decide on my approach, and I think I have decided to be honest with them. The course is not supposed to be a dumping ground and it has been a very popular course in the past. I believe it will be best to let them know that I am learning right along with them. I have knowledge of civilizations, but my biblical knowledge is weak. I will be a facilitator for the class. I will be reading and writing, right along with them. Maybe it will be successful, maybe not. Either way I will learn more about myself and more about the Bible.

Wow.

When I applied to teach summer school I did it with the thought that it would not be bad. The students had already failed the course so they came to summer school because they wanted to pass right? Right?????

Wrong.

They came to summer school because they thought it was an easy pass and all you had to do was attend to get credit. They fail to realize that you are completing more than a weeks worth of work in one eight hour day. You are completing an 18 week course in 8 days and a testing day. Ten goals. Eight days.

I have already ranted about day 1. Several were sent out, all came back for a second chance. You have to do that when they have 504s, IEPs, or they somehow manage to convince administration that they are willing to do the work and capable of behaving. Yeah…no.

For everyday add, chronic sleeper removed, returned and removed again. It is like a baby who can’t handle the chaos so it goes to sleep. Crazy. He works well in a separate setting, but head down and asleep when in the classroom. Poor thing can’t help it.

Day 2, was a little better and very much a blur right now. I covered a lot of what I needed to cover. There were a couple of new additions to the room. I threw out my main problem after he said it was time to show his a$$ and eventually did. 80s throwback (think Kid ‘n Play hair) was taken out along with his partner in disturbance. We had an OK day after that. Constantly telling the girls to stop talking and the boys to stop giggling. There were almost twenty interruptions in the first two hours. With every one the class has to be regained. The district social studies guy came in to observe and instead of observing silently while I had a fast paced review he decided to interject. Now, I don’t care if anyone is in my room but DO NOT DISRUPT MY CLASS! If I want your input I will ask for it. I was going quick, asking questions getting responses, making corrections where appropriate and not adding anything new. Students were preparing to take the test and I had their FULL attention. I ask a question, get a response, then turned around to get something when district guy decided to offer his example and tie it to the next goal. The state is requiring 185 student days next year, instead of 180. The students had not heard this and it caused quite a commotion. He starts stumbling to explain how it works and I just interrupt, telling students to calm down and I will explain it more tomorrow when we GET to state power and supremacy of federal over state and state over local. They babble a little but see that I am frustrated at the disruption that killed almost ten minutes of my review time. I know it was obvious and I feel a little bad about that, but I do not have time to waste on something that hasn’t even been fully decided and is NOT 100% related to the topic at hand. We did discuss it on Day 3 and it was without disruption. The only other issue for day 2 was when students were supposed to be working on their test and someone came to the door. Students began to chatter, call out to the person at the door, make silly comments, joke around and laugh. I tried to get what was needed for the visitor and get students back on task at the same time. One of the boys said something crude about the visitor and she attempted to call the office to have him taken care of. I made the statement that they really needed to be working and take this seriously. Students did not hear that. All they heard was her response of it was sad they weren’t since they had already had the course and had an opportunity to finish it now. One of my divas took offense and was seriously rude to the visitor. It was a drama filled day, but I was able to teach for some of it.

Day 3, Happy b’day to me… a$$ shower is out (blessing) and 80s throwback is back with a promise of behavior. Again, I had called parents to let them know and had a little hope that day 3 would be better. It was. The boys made it all the way to 2:00 PM before the giggling started. The girls still chattered and had to be corrected, but for the most part people worked. No one was thrown out. I had mentioned to admin the issue with class interruptions, explaining that my main problems occurred when people came to the door for this that or the other. She understood and took care of it.

After school I head home to change and then go across town to work a concert for teen kid’s band fees. Heart and Def Leopard. EXHAUSTED by the end of it.

Day 4, I am in no shape or form capable of extended patience. A$$ shower is back along with all the rest. More than a goal and a half to cover. We were off to a great start. Students were attentive, doing notes, copying graphics, and listening. Only minor issues. First break they earned a little extra. After break, back to it. Not as easy as first hour, but still OK. A$$ shower puts his head down to sleep and refuses to keep going. I send him out with security. While I am writing the issue up two other students get into it. The girl who has been wonderful each day is saying to a boy across the room that he better STFU about her and stop saying sh!t. I send them all out. They bring a$$ shower back after a good talking to and it is his last chance. I request that the girl come back after a warning and that the other guy just leave. We are now discussing city zoning and planning. They are brainstorming, designing, and most are taking it seriously. A$$ shower wants anarchy and legalize everything. He keeps trying to distract others and I keep redirecting. During lunch a counselor brings the other guy back to my room to apologize. He explained that he hadn’t said anything, he was just laughing at what some girls across the room had said about the one that exploded in a tirade. He will spend the rest of the day in a separate setting, now has a behavior contract, and will be back in my room on Monday. I think he will be OK, but we shall see. After lunch we have graphics, questions and notes to do. For whatever reason, A$$ shower takes his belt off and hits the girl beside him. I know they are playing and I simply say really? When I turn around she hauls off and hits him. We have one hour of the day remaining and I have political parties and the election process to explain. REALLY! NO TIME FOR THIS! Go to call security and they are walking by as I pick up the phone. The girl is a hard worker and has a mouth, but she has been pretty decent with me. I really want her to stay and the boy really did deserve what he got. I’ll talk to the girl and let her know there are no more chances. She can come back but it will be while sitting in isolation. A$$ shower is done. Go away, do not come back. The rest of the class was great and we finished five minutes early.

It is the last day of the week and I am ready to go, but I don’t want to come in at the butt crack of dawn on Monday so I am staying to make my copies. Heading downstairs to ask a question and then make my copies, I notice a bus has returned to school and there are students being separated into two groups. Oh joy. One group is being taken into a classroom and the other to another location. Since I was there, security was dealing with another issue, admin is handling admin things…guess who gets to babysit. I didn’t have to. I could have ignored the situation and been on my way. That is the right thing to do, so I help. The kids in the room aren’t that bad. Escorts are taking four at a time to call parents since no one was going to be allowed back on the bus. Students are not happy, but this group is understanding that there are rules and some individual decided to break them. Someone was tokin’ up in the back of the bus. Smart.

Police and drug dogs are brought in. Procedure is followed. Dog makes a hit on the bus. A$$ shower strikes again. I guess b/c he no longer has anything on him and they can’t 100% prove it was him, he was not arrested. He was simply told to get off the property and if he stepped foot back on it he would be arrested for trespassing. He had to wait for his ride up the hill and across the street.

Eventually we are allowed to let students go to the restroom one at a time. I take girls and a security guy takes the guys. We are waiting on parents. The second group that was taken to a separate location was the back of the bus folks and they were NOTHING like the classroom kids I was originally with. They were less than cooperative.

I was finally able to make my copies and get out of there by 6 PM. I know admin and support staff were there with students even longer.

This is the population that can determine my effectiveness as a teacher. Unfreakinbelievable. It is just a few that ruin the learning opportunities for others. Next week has to be better.

This week of insanity and my survival brought to you by ten years of experience, administrative support, Monster energy drinks, and Rosemount Shiraz.

That’s right, I had the majority of my first class not even try on the assessment and a few students in other classes. Several marked random answers. At least one marked all C’s. Another marked twelve questions and no more. Great. Thanks. You screwed my data!!!!! To think, in 2014 my salary will be determined by clowns like this. Unfreakinbelievable. I made it clear that those who obviously trashed the test had better not even think of asking me for even a tenth of a point and the extra credit opportunity is off the table for them. (They have to attend review sessions and make growth on their final assessment.) Really? You couldn’t just take the test? I even told you the questions that I could actually use! 47% of the test was material we had covered. Granted 53% of it was crap, but I could have used the data from the 47%. Grrrr.

Pay-for-performance, yeah…great idea. This is the crap we deal with on a daily basis.

The last two weeks have been a struggle to the line. Students were wired and ready to be out. For that matter, their teachers were too. It sprinkled snow here Thursday. My girls were out, but I had to go. This is the beginning of Friday drama that set the tone for the rest of my Friday and continued this week.

TeenKid was sick and the girls were out Thursday due to weather. I left, with permission from my AsstAdmin, at 12:30. Jem was able to go to work and neither of us lost a day. I’m off 4th so no coverage was needed. AsstAdmin had no problem with it. I went to the office, TheAdmin was talking to Secretary and AsstAdmin handed me the sign out book. Friday we were short on subs. TeenKid was still sick, but she we figured she would be ok on her own for 1/2 day. I was going to request to leave again instead of taking the whole day. When I get to school I am called for 4th block coverage. I explain that I need to leave and why and was there anyone else? Sec said that everyone available had already been called for coverage. (NOT TRUE.) I said I would work something out for my sick child and she said nevermind and hung up. Soon after TheAdmin comes down the hall and said I need you to cover 4th. I said I understood and said I would work out my situation, as I had told Sec when she hung up on me. He said I couldn’t just leave without signing out just b/c I had 4th off. I explained that I didn’t do that and the circumstances for me leaving yesterday. He said that the Sec didn’t sign me out yesterday. I explained that he was standing there talking to her when AsstAdmin handed me the book to sign out! This is all taking place in the hallway, with a teacher beside me and students passing. My fellow teachers were very uncomfortable. Well, my friends. The jerks on the other end of the hall were amused. BTW, these are the same jerks that leave 4th block, do not sign out, and are never called for coverage. In fact, Friday they were out the door at 12:47. Long story short Admin kept on about it, I defended myself and didn’t quietly take it, and I had to take on coverage 4th. Sec called 2nd block and said she had a sub, no need for me to cover. I said, “No. Admin instructed me to do coverage and I have made arrangements to do so.” No need, we have a sub. WTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why did she send Adminto make ME? I know I am not the only one that said I can’t and I know my excuse was better than making early happy hour for the Christmas Beer Crawl! I told Admin that I hadn’t planned on coming at all, but knew the sub situation so I did. I also told him I was going to seek permission to leave, just as I did yesterday, and sign out. He said AsstAdmin was out today. I explained the obvious, that there were others I would have asked if I hadn’t gotten an email response. Anyway, it was just absolutely ridiculous. My colleagues thought so, those who are not jackasses, and my students thought so. A public dress down is less than professional. Students should never be able to hear or see it. As for recourse, there is none. Crappit.

This little scenario pretty much sucked up my entire Friday and I did not leave early even though I didn’t have to cover. In fact, it is my goal to never set foot in Sec’s office for signing out again. The drama continued Tuesday when Admin beebopped into my room. He was dressed as Santa and AsstAdmin as an elf. I couldn’t tell who it was. My Sociology students (all eight of them who came) were watching Blind Side and it was dark. It is a sad fact that I can’t truly see clearly from across the room. So our movie is disrupted with Admin, and he comes to ask how things are. Right beside me, elbows on the desk. I am rather uncomfortable. Space issues you know. He also asks about TeenKid and I tell him she is still sick, but able to continue about her day. He said I could leave early if I needed. Um…gonna go with no on this. I had copies to make even if I was willing to walk into Sec’s office to sign out! Later that day…I was in the office asking AsstAdmin a question about professional development and get called into Sec’s office by Admin. Oh. Joy. He felt that I was rather irritated and wanted to clear the air. I stated that I understood him to be doing his job. He continued on with a round about apology and said the whole system had been revamped and that he didn’t realize I had actually worked out the details of signing out and such, and found everything I said to be true when he actually checked. He also said that Sec didn’t realize my family situation when I said I couldn’t cover. (I know my head had to have perked up. If you will go back several paragraphs to the original drama you will see that I was very clear on this matter when I was asked to cover.) Either way, it was almost an apology and more than I expected.

My opinion of Admin has changed drastically. I used to defend him to others and say that it was refreshing to see the enthusiasm. I have realized where my colleagues frustration comes from and can’t imagine that I will be offering words in his defense. They explained that I am not the first to receive strange, even unprofessional, treatment. I need to learn to just keep my head down and mouth shut.

It is all over and I can breathe a big sigh. Twelve days of break look really good right now.